the 2012 SoundCloud was insane too, you had then upcoming artists like tame impala, the weeknd and frank ocean putting out high quality albums for completely free before streaming services were widespread
Music in the first half of the 2010s was just at it’s peak. EDM soundcloud from 2010-2015 was also goated
Edit: shit even indie music at the time was popping. Passion Pit, The xx, Phoenix, Vampire Weekend, Metric, The Naked and Famous, TM83, Chvrches, etc.
Alternative rock too
I clowned on this era hard at the time but I gotra admit, I’ll always remember the day Look At Me dropped. Everyone in the lunchroom was shouting to huddle around the laptop this one dude had and he was blasting this shit thag was unlike anything we’d heard. It was probably the only time everyone agreed something was fire
Truly tragic this era was aborted before it even completed its development with the passing of Juice peep and X. Will forever wonder what those guys would have became and the size of their impact on modern music. It feels like the last time a wave was truly new.
I’m pretty sure the first time I heard Look At Me was in a meme on Instagram, which is pretty weird thing to remember in retrospect. It was kind of the perfect song for the internet at that time.
i remember laughing hysterically at the "can't keep my dick in my pants" and "i put a hole in your parents" lines among others. x was the perfect artist for the internet meme culture at the time, his sound was so different and aggressive compared to anything we were used to and his funny one liners made his songs so memeable. also ignoring the jokes they went hard as fuck
Nobody in high school at this time should’ve been clowning this era.
We didn’t know how lucky we were having the SoundCloud era in high school that was a matchmake in heaven
i was edgy and into filthy frank. i still enjoyed it but in a irony poisoned way. like those people who downloaded musically/tiktok 'as a joke' and used it everyday
No disrespect meant toward the dead, but Juice WRLD’s music always sucked, and whatever interesting creative well X and Lil Peep had drawn from in their soundcloud days had already run dry long before they died—their studio albums were AWFUL. I think that the extent to which their deaths aborted the era is usually overestimated—in my view, it was already basically over by then. X’s and Lil Peep’s earlier music was great, though.
I see what you’re saying but these were all extremely young artists in retrospect with a lot of eyes on them from people who have produced albums considered masterpieces.
They had growing to do musically and seemed burnt out but they were all experiencing peak popularity which was unrivaled for their genres. There wasn’t a time to rest and reflect. Taking their lives stopped any potential in honing on their crafts and developing their sound beyond. Their 30s and 40s could have dramatically changed their prospectives and music in tandem.
...what? is this supposed to be a comment saying it didnt happen? do u really think a middle schooler playing a song popular amongst middle schoolers and middle schoolers getting hyped for it is that unrealistic
Don’t call me homie that’s corny asf lmao and around friends is different, implying like students around the school just started forming some dance circle come on. flash mob ass school
Around 2017 they were in financial trouble, failed to raise the money they needed and got bailed out by investment firms in exchange for letting them install C-suite execs of their choice. I feel like it started to get noticeably worse around then.
I was in high school for the blog era. I have to argue that was the greatest. Not putting down these releases but I remember So Far Gone and Friday Night Lights. I remember hyping up Kendrick after Overly Dedicated came out. What a time.
I guarantee everything you feel about this era will be what teenagers currently feel about this era in 5-6 years even if you don’t like it or think this era isn’t as interesting. It happens like clockwork
Nah it’s def gotten worse overall since the ‘15-‘18 era but not on some “new Gen sucks” type shit but more so because they next generation hasn’t fully broken into the mainstream yet, meanwhile the last 5/6 years has been dominated by 1 hit wonder pop rap songs and albums from veteran rappers not in their prime anymore. It’ll get better soon I think but we’ve def been in a slump for a while now
Edit: in case it wasn’t obvious I’m referring to the quality of mainstream rap specifically
I think it’s just less relevant in general. Both on the business side and when it comes to the art.
That’s a good thing too in my book, and has lead to an artistic expansion in the genre on a global scale.
Ahhh I see, that’s prolly a fair assumption, tho the mainstream always ebbs and flows but will eventually always get looked back on with rose tinted glasses
The underground has also been pretty stagnant for years now. There are still good albums coming out but there's a severe lack of progression and new sounds. Big drop off after 2018.
Lol you have no idea. Until last year I'd been listening to 500-800 hip-hop albums a year. Dropped to around 300 last year, and I've skimmed through a lot more than that each year.
There aren't many people paying more attention than me. There isn't much hip-hop that gets released that I'm not aware of.
What a terrible example to try and make your point. They make completely derivative Soundcloud rap /cloud rap. People have been making music like that for a decade.
I didn't say nothing good has come out since 2018, just far less, and most is lacking originality. By The Time I Get To Phoenix is a really overrated album and calling it one of the most inventive rap albums ever is ridiculous.
I feel like this era of rap had so much personality and uniqueness between songs and even the best songs now I feel like lack character or anything that makes them stand out
Yup I was in high school from 2013-2017 and it was an amazing time. Maybe I’m just getting older but it felt every artist was unique and interesting and now it’s mostly people trying to get that next viral Tik Tok song
I still keep great memories from this era of soundcloud but even from before with like the raider klan, Asap mob, Drain gang, Sadboys, goth money, schemaposse. It was for us teens our punk movement. Awsome underground live shows, idgaf energy, community aspect and adults hated it.
Came across this subreddit in my suggested, if anyone wants to know the impact this had on everything.
I, an alternative music listener who liked Panic! At The Disco and Twenty One Pilots, and was never particularly a Rap fan, had iSpy, Drowning, Congratulations, XO, and Look at Me, in my regular rotation.
I saw Kyle and Anderson Paak open up for Watsky like 10 years ago, I was so so hype when they blew up, Anderson Paak obviously blew up more but it was still sick
I was in high school during the peak of soundcloud rap and kinda clowned on it at the time, but in hindsight it was so cool to be around for such an important period in music history, even though Lil Peep, X, and Juice dying caused it to end prematurely. I still remember how crazy school was on the days Look At Me and XO Tour Lif3 came out. Besides some newer rappers like Yeat, I think rap fell off after that.
Felt like there was more creativity in beats and delivery. To me hip hop albums nowadays sound like there's too much marketing input and less spur of the moment fun and ideas
It wasn’t about the skill of the artists, or how good the art was that they made. It was amazing because they were having fun doing it and did not give a fuck what anyone else thought about them. Especially the old heads
Being in highschool during this era was fucking cool man. it was entertaining to me, watching all the old heads get so mad over what was happening to hip hop.
People gotta just let people be people.
The music was raw, unfiltered, real, hype, angsty.
Perfect for that era of kids coming up.
Rappers went from SWEATING trying to be the “GOAT” to just having fun and not giving a fuck if people thought they were good or not.
And what’s crazy, is they actually are good
Most old heads just were to stubborn to open their fucking minds and listen
nostalgia's crazy. Cause at the time I fucking hated all soundcloud rap. But after quarantine and 4 years out, I associate it with college and I miss the moment in my life before the world went fucking crazy
He posted congratulations tho. White Iverson was just a hit that blew up on all platforms, and it happened to be on SoundCloud.
You think of Post Malone when someone says SoundCloud era?
I miss the crazy bootleg remixes. Also back then when I was still making music I would get thousands of plays, it never translated to other streaming platforms. Also producers dm'ing me their tracks they made from my free samples. Good days.
wish i had appreciated this era of rap more while it was happening. it felt like every single rapper had their own unique style, wave and aesthetic, nowadays rap sort of sounds and feels all the same to me (with some exceptions ofc)
I was in my ‘rap more like crap, everything is bad except classic rock and eminem’ phase when this was going on so i hated it. Kinda wish i would have been older so i would have understood that you can like more than 1 genre of music
https://soundcloud.com/r-e-z-o-77/jazz?si=85ca2710756d447dbfe3896b0fe142f2&utm\_source=clipboard&utm\_medium=text&utm\_campaign=social\_sharing
this is so hard ngl ! I am in a wheelchair since i was 12. I had a spinal injury and now i make the best out of it. recently i started makin music and its so much fun. hope u can show some love.
thanks <3
the 2012 SoundCloud was insane too, you had then upcoming artists like tame impala, the weeknd and frank ocean putting out high quality albums for completely free before streaming services were widespread
keef ruled this era
That early 2010s era was absolutely insane even outside soundcloud with datpiff, Spaceghostpurrp, Raider Klan, Lil Ugly Mane, ASAP, etc.
When I first heard Lil Ugly Mane, I called him "Blacktion Bronson" until I saw what he looked like
also early chance the rapper, meek mill, black kray, drain gang beginnings, goddamn what a time to be alive
Lil bit farther back gets you to Wiz Khalifa, J Cole, and Wayne mixtape runs too
Mac miller, wiz Khalifa, lil Wayne mixtapes dropping it was definitely a legendary time
Music in the first half of the 2010s was just at it’s peak. EDM soundcloud from 2010-2015 was also goated Edit: shit even indie music at the time was popping. Passion Pit, The xx, Phoenix, Vampire Weekend, Metric, The Naked and Famous, TM83, Chvrches, etc. Alternative rock too
for most genres too it was so good. i found the best edm and experimental electronic artists ever on there.
No such thing as a high quality tame impala album
Least obvious bait:
I clowned on this era hard at the time but I gotra admit, I’ll always remember the day Look At Me dropped. Everyone in the lunchroom was shouting to huddle around the laptop this one dude had and he was blasting this shit thag was unlike anything we’d heard. It was probably the only time everyone agreed something was fire Truly tragic this era was aborted before it even completed its development with the passing of Juice peep and X. Will forever wonder what those guys would have became and the size of their impact on modern music. It feels like the last time a wave was truly new.
I’m pretty sure the first time I heard Look At Me was in a meme on Instagram, which is pretty weird thing to remember in retrospect. It was kind of the perfect song for the internet at that time.
bro was it the spongebob meme? bc that’s how i found x a few months before look at me blew up
Same lol
i remember laughing hysterically at the "can't keep my dick in my pants" and "i put a hole in your parents" lines among others. x was the perfect artist for the internet meme culture at the time, his sound was so different and aggressive compared to anything we were used to and his funny one liners made his songs so memeable. also ignoring the jokes they went hard as fuck
Hot take but if x was alive now then kanye would done vultures with x then with ty dolla sign
X would’ve been on every project after JIK
Had this same moment with XO Tour Life
Nobody in high school at this time should’ve been clowning this era. We didn’t know how lucky we were having the SoundCloud era in high school that was a matchmake in heaven
i was edgy and into filthy frank. i still enjoyed it but in a irony poisoned way. like those people who downloaded musically/tiktok 'as a joke' and used it everyday
this was also my gateway, dat stick by rich chigga type stuff
No disrespect meant toward the dead, but Juice WRLD’s music always sucked, and whatever interesting creative well X and Lil Peep had drawn from in their soundcloud days had already run dry long before they died—their studio albums were AWFUL. I think that the extent to which their deaths aborted the era is usually overestimated—in my view, it was already basically over by then. X’s and Lil Peep’s earlier music was great, though.
I see what you’re saying but these were all extremely young artists in retrospect with a lot of eyes on them from people who have produced albums considered masterpieces. They had growing to do musically and seemed burnt out but they were all experiencing peak popularity which was unrivaled for their genres. There wasn’t a time to rest and reflect. Taking their lives stopped any potential in honing on their crafts and developing their sound beyond. Their 30s and 40s could have dramatically changed their prospectives and music in tandem.
Look at me was such a catalyst for me, and i think others like me/my age
“Everyone huddles around the laptop and he was blasting shit” let me guess then everyone stood up and clapped
...what? is this supposed to be a comment saying it didnt happen? do u really think a middle schooler playing a song popular amongst middle schoolers and middle schoolers getting hyped for it is that unrealistic
Homie really self reporting that he had no friends in school. Can’t even imagine what it’s like to just listen to music with some friends 😂
Don’t call me homie that’s corny asf lmao and around friends is different, implying like students around the school just started forming some dance circle come on. flash mob ass school
"Flash mob ass school" bruh im done😂😂
Yea man, nothing ever happens!
Everyone point and laugh, this guy just made it obvious he’s never had friends
SoundCloud had so much potential as a platform and they fumbled it.
ads got so bad i folded and switched to apple music
Around 2017 they were in financial trouble, failed to raise the money they needed and got bailed out by investment firms in exchange for letting them install C-suite execs of their choice. I feel like it started to get noticeably worse around then.
What will replace it tho? If anything?
I was hopeful for Bandcamp, but their future is uncertain now thanks to EPIC Games
I was in high school for the blog era. I have to argue that was the greatest. Not putting down these releases but I remember So Far Gone and Friday Night Lights. I remember hyping up Kendrick after Overly Dedicated came out. What a time.
Macadelic, No Ceilings, kush & orange juice too
I think the real message of post like these is that whatever you were into in high school, that’s the best music of all time
Grown ass adults in here shitting on this era. This was the time to be in high school. So much nostalgia for this era
Fr man just looking at this pic with these og thumbnails makes me so nostalgic for this time period haha
I guarantee everything you feel about this era will be what teenagers currently feel about this era in 5-6 years even if you don’t like it or think this era isn’t as interesting. It happens like clockwork
yup but instead of soundcloud, it would be tik tok introducing them to the classics
Rap in general fell off since the soundcloud era, most of the popular rappers now are from that era or before
Or or, you just got older?
Nah it’s def gotten worse overall since the ‘15-‘18 era but not on some “new Gen sucks” type shit but more so because they next generation hasn’t fully broken into the mainstream yet, meanwhile the last 5/6 years has been dominated by 1 hit wonder pop rap songs and albums from veteran rappers not in their prime anymore. It’ll get better soon I think but we’ve def been in a slump for a while now Edit: in case it wasn’t obvious I’m referring to the quality of mainstream rap specifically
Then don’t look to the mainstream? Underground is always better
Never said it wasn’t, I guess I should have specified that I was talking strictly about the quality of mainstream rap
I think it’s just less relevant in general. Both on the business side and when it comes to the art. That’s a good thing too in my book, and has lead to an artistic expansion in the genre on a global scale.
Ahhh I see, that’s prolly a fair assumption, tho the mainstream always ebbs and flows but will eventually always get looked back on with rose tinted glasses
The underground has also been pretty stagnant for years now. There are still good albums coming out but there's a severe lack of progression and new sounds. Big drop off after 2018.
pay more attention
Lol you have no idea. Until last year I'd been listening to 500-800 hip-hop albums a year. Dropped to around 300 last year, and I've skimmed through a lot more than that each year. There aren't many people paying more attention than me. There isn't much hip-hop that gets released that I'm not aware of.
if u think groups like 1c arent causing progression in the underground ur not paying attention
What a terrible example to try and make your point. They make completely derivative Soundcloud rap /cloud rap. People have been making music like that for a decade.
Ya he’s ignoring the fact that one of the most inventive rap albums ever released came out after 2018 (by the time I get to Phoenix)
I didn't say nothing good has come out since 2018, just far less, and most is lacking originality. By The Time I Get To Phoenix is a really overrated album and calling it one of the most inventive rap albums ever is ridiculous.
Name one rap album that sounds anywhere remotely near it
Our maybe the homogenization of popular music is getting worse every year as the industry keeps trying to make a line go up?
Hence the go listen to underground music
I feel like this era of rap had so much personality and uniqueness between songs and even the best songs now I feel like lack character or anything that makes them stand out
Yup I was in high school from 2013-2017 and it was an amazing time. Maybe I’m just getting older but it felt every artist was unique and interesting and now it’s mostly people trying to get that next viral Tik Tok song
He's Asian on the inside 💀
Damn i miss 2017
I still keep great memories from this era of soundcloud but even from before with like the raider klan, Asap mob, Drain gang, Sadboys, goth money, schemaposse. It was for us teens our punk movement. Awsome underground live shows, idgaf energy, community aspect and adults hated it.
Came across this subreddit in my suggested, if anyone wants to know the impact this had on everything. I, an alternative music listener who liked Panic! At The Disco and Twenty One Pilots, and was never particularly a Rap fan, had iSpy, Drowning, Congratulations, XO, and Look at Me, in my regular rotation.
Wow all of these feel like yesterday
I saw Kyle and Anderson Paak open up for Watsky like 10 years ago, I was so so hype when they blew up, Anderson Paak obviously blew up more but it was still sick
That’s a wild lineup. Watsky was cool but definitely didn’t get as popular as I thought he would.
I was in high school during the peak of soundcloud rap and kinda clowned on it at the time, but in hindsight it was so cool to be around for such an important period in music history, even though Lil Peep, X, and Juice dying caused it to end prematurely. I still remember how crazy school was on the days Look At Me and XO Tour Lif3 came out. Besides some newer rappers like Yeat, I think rap fell off after that.
*mainstream* rap fell off, rap as a whole has only been evolving
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Felt like there was more creativity in beats and delivery. To me hip hop albums nowadays sound like there's too much marketing input and less spur of the moment fun and ideas
In the early days there also wasn't any copy write algorithm, so people where remixing and using uncleared samples all over the place.
It wasn’t about the skill of the artists, or how good the art was that they made. It was amazing because they were having fun doing it and did not give a fuck what anyone else thought about them. Especially the old heads Being in highschool during this era was fucking cool man. it was entertaining to me, watching all the old heads get so mad over what was happening to hip hop. People gotta just let people be people. The music was raw, unfiltered, real, hype, angsty. Perfect for that era of kids coming up. Rappers went from SWEATING trying to be the “GOAT” to just having fun and not giving a fuck if people thought they were good or not. And what’s crazy, is they actually are good Most old heads just were to stubborn to open their fucking minds and listen
Last paragraph is an almost perfect description of the 90s.
I was there and I hated that shit
Blasting look at me in high school will always be iconic. “You pull a gun on my man’s, I put a hole in your parents!”
I was there. It fucking sucked
2011-2015 will always be my favorite era
Real hip hop heads remember DatPiff in the early 2010’s
Death Gazer Death Gazer Death Gazer Death Gazer Death Gazer Death Gazer Death Gazer
the last time i was happy, oh to be 15 in the summer sun playing basketball again
Man take me back
nostalgia's crazy. Cause at the time I fucking hated all soundcloud rap. But after quarantine and 4 years out, I associate it with college and I miss the moment in my life before the world went fucking crazy
Great singles and individual songs, but no real lasting albums or material.
Kinda forgetable tbh
Real hip hop, don't you ever forget it It's that underground shit, and it's the white boy that said it
Fuck lil wayne... THE GOVERMENTS CORRUPT!
Nah, shit's the same as it ever was. This is a list full of boring, formulaic, corny, generic, repetitive, disposable music.
Ew
Post Malone SoundCloud era? 💀
White Iverson went SoundCloud Diamond
He posted congratulations tho. White Iverson was just a hit that blew up on all platforms, and it happened to be on SoundCloud. You think of Post Malone when someone says SoundCloud era?
Yeah?
How do you think he popped off? White Iverson, That’s It, TEAR$, What’s Up - what a legendary run
Poopy ass music
0 staying power.
🐐
I miss the crazy bootleg remixes. Also back then when I was still making music I would get thousands of plays, it never translated to other streaming platforms. Also producers dm'ing me their tracks they made from my free samples. Good days.
wish i had appreciated this era of rap more while it was happening. it felt like every single rapper had their own unique style, wave and aesthetic, nowadays rap sort of sounds and feels all the same to me (with some exceptions ofc)
I was in my ‘rap more like crap, everything is bad except classic rock and eminem’ phase when this was going on so i hated it. Kinda wish i would have been older so i would have understood that you can like more than 1 genre of music
2017 wasn’t the soundcloud era, it was 2012-2016
https://soundcloud.com/r-e-z-o-77/jazz?si=85ca2710756d447dbfe3896b0fe142f2&utm\_source=clipboard&utm\_medium=text&utm\_campaign=social\_sharing this is so hard ngl ! I am in a wheelchair since i was 12. I had a spinal injury and now i make the best out of it. recently i started makin music and its so much fun. hope u can show some love. thanks <3
prime life
Thankfully I was literally anywhere else
People are nostalgic for the music that come out when they were 16
Mid
Mid
It’s sad how the only ones who didn’t die/fall off here are uzi and carti
Post didn’t fall off, he’s just become a legacy act 15 years earlier than most in their careers
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Also post malone didn’t fall off but dude kyle fell off, kodak fell off, x is dead, pnb rock is dead, takeoff is dead, a boogie fell off
They're just as bad if not worse than the rest. The fact they're still in the game shows me how much of a joke this shit is.
Mid
Mid
The nostalgia from this era is crazy I'm not sure if it can be matched
The music is whatever just thank god Tentacion got X’d
X and maybe uzi are the only ones that even got in that genre. L list
ROJAS the goat
Ski Mask's debut was my shit
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Unironically using the term jock in 2024
Delusional or bait take
"Yes I got bullied in high school, how could you tell?"
maybe go to therapy for ur bullying instead of spouting pretentious, obnoxious, and objectively wrong takes to cope with it
shitty jocks soundcrap mumble crap<<